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The
north Indian state of Uttarakhand has been especially badly hit,
with 48 confirmed deaths, SA Murugesan, secretary of the state's
disaster management department, told Reuters.
In Nainital, a popular tourist destination in the Himalayan
state, the town's main lake broke its banks, submerging the main
thoroughfare and damaging bridges and rail tracks.
In nearby Chamoli district, rescuers from India's paramilitary
National Disaster Response Force continued to search debris
following landslides caused by the heavy rains.
India's federal interior minister Amit Shah surveyed badly hit
areas on Thursday.
“Crops and homes have been wiped out, which is a severe blow to
families already grappling with the devastating fallout of the
COVID-19 pandemic," said Azmat Ulla, a senior official at the
International Federation of Red Crescent Societies.
“The people of Nepal and India are sandwiched between the
pandemic and worsening climate disasters, heavily impacting
millions of lives and livelihoods.”
Some 42 people have died in the last week in the southern Indian
state of Kerala, according to a statement from the chief
minister's office.
In neighbouring Nepal, at least 77 people have died.
India's annual monsoon rains usually run from June to September.
(Reporting by Saurabh Sharma in Lucknow and Jose Devasia in
Kochi, Writing by Alasdair Pal; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore
and Nick Macfie)
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